The red face: Dermatomyositis

Abstract

Dermatomyositis (DM) is a disease that manifests as an inflammatory myopathy typically producing a symmetric proximal muscle weakness and a characteristic cutaneous eruption. 1–3 This disorder is closely related to polymyositis (PM), which has all the clinical features of DM without the presence of skin disease. Both of these disorders are of unknown etiology, but pathogenetic mechanisms are believed to involve immunologically mediated muscle damage. 4 Both DM and PM may occur in the presence of other collagen vascular diseases such as lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, Sjögren's syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and various vasculitides. Dermatomyositis seems to be characterized by an increased frequency of internal malignancy, whereas malignancy association in patients with PM is less clearly established. Recent data suggest that PM, as well as DM, occurs in children. Both DM and PM are associated with morbidity and mortality and, therefore, prompt and aggressive therapy is necessary. In this review we emphasize practical clinical aspects of DM.